30 Peasants

1- The Bright Side
This peasant always smiles and has a sunny, optimistic outlook despite his many scars and disfigurements that speak of an incredibly hard life. His happy go lucky nature means that even in the worst circumstances he will try and cheer those up around him with a friendly toothless grin or wave of his mangled hand.

2- The Drunkard
Wreathed in the stench of cheap alcohol this obese drunk peasant will instantly take a liking to anyone he meets. However, his moods are fickle and he is as likely to challenge you to a fight, as he is to burst into tears or fall completely comatose mid sentence. Unbelievably he peasant claims to actually be a frog that was turned into a man by an Elf Sorceress. He will go to great lengths hopping around, ribbiting and splashing about in ponds to try and prove the point, of course his brother claims he is just doing it to get out of cleaning the privy pit.

3- Shaker
This tiny peasant is constantly shaking, and jumps at the sight of his own shadow. Even the barest threat of violence or pain reduces him to tears, making him quite inconsolable for hours to come.

4- Mr.Worry
A constant worrier this small and scruffy peasant is constantly nay saying and warning doom upon those around him. Every plan of action prompts the peasant to suck his teeth and sharply intake his breath, usually accompanied by much head shaking. This poor peasant has found a strange statue buried in his field. He is now in a quandary, as he does not recognize the statue and is not sure whether he will be either praised or burned at the stake for unearthing it.

5- Freakshow
Old, warty and completely naked, this wrinkled peasant is either destitute or has taken some kind of vow against clothes. Unabashed about his appearance he will confidently strut around wearing only rolls of aged flesh and a covering of patchy grey hair. He is a collector of rare and strange dirt and wants to buy the dirt from the adventurers’ shoes for his collection. If they accept he will tell them all about his plans to create a special kind of dirt potion, in which even people could be grown…

6- Grandpa
This wizened old peasant likes to tell long pointless stories about the old days, and it seems everything that is said reminds him of something that once happened to him, ‘when he was your age’.

7- The Fabricator
An old and warty man with a noticeable limp, this peasant has a strong distrust of wheels, having once been run over by a wagon, and views all things round with deep suspicion, even peoples eyes if they open them too wide. He is a fabricator of replacement body parts and has a commission to make a wooden nose for the local lord. However, the lord wants it to look exactly like his old nose and no one knows what it looked like, except the man that took it from him…

8- The Pigfarmer
Big and slow-witted this peasant is thick as a post but friendly. He will smile and nod at everything that is said to him, pretending he understands (i.e. ‘It’s very important you don’t let go of this rope’, the peasant smiles and nods). It seems he is in possession of a cursed pig. Strangely intelligent the pig seems to know things just before they happen and has so far managed to avoid all attempts to kill and eat it, mostly by disguising itself as other pigs.

9- The Pessimist
Gifted with a nasally annoying voice this scruffy little peasant can’t help but point out the worst in every situations and constantly whines about his woes, which are numerous and terrible. Apparently this peasant saw a dead horse fall from the sky and knows where it might be found.

10- The Dragger
This single limbed peasant is bereft of both legs and one arm causing him to drag himself around on a small, wheeled tray of cunning design. Perhaps because it is his only limb he possesses amazing dexterity in his remaining arm, able to perform clever card tricks and amazing shadow puppetry with ease.

11- Call me Clumsy
A clumsy and ham fisted fellow this young peasant is falling over himself (quite literally) to help. However, he is terminally uncoordinated and if he attempts all but the simplest of tasks, such as lying down quietly, he is bound to make a right pigs ear of them. This peasant has lost his most prized (and only possession, his cow Manfred.

12- Yuck
This shifty and filthy looking peasant has an unpleasant habit of standing uncomfortably close to you when he talks. Apart from the terrible smell this also you a close up view of his many lesions and sores, which he mindlessly picks and scratches as he talks.

13- Mr.Black
Pathetically grateful for any attention this badly burned peasant will go out of his way to help you in any task you might undertake, despite that fact that it obviously causes him no end of pain, and visible oozing from his burns.

14- Stutter
This p-p-poor p-p-peasant has a terrible s-s-stutter but cannot help but try and be as helpful as possible, if only he can get his meaning across. He also seems to possess an extremely large vocabulary for a peasant, something that makes his attempts at communication worse.

15- Paranoid Patroness
When this peasant was a young girl she saw something nasty in the West Wood. Ever since, she has warned her sons and grandsons and great-grandsons not to go down there or the Elves will get them. She has never even seen an Elf, but he knows he hates them!

16- Boasting and Bored
This peasants permanently furrowed brow and gravely voice are offset by his soft, Hobbit pot-belly: he is mean but not lean. He boasts to have killed of five wolfs, three bandits and one monster of uncertain identity. All of these attacked his sheep at some point. Not a word of it is true. In reality he was just a bored country boy who ran away from the farm to seek a more exciting life; his grim looks and terse silences are all just an act.

17- Horseblood
This farmer has spent his whole life in his village and worked hard to raise the best horses and pigs he could. He succeeded so well that he began running a shop, selling his animals to the other farmers, as well as feed for them and other such necessities. In a village as small as as the Hamlet he lives in, his services and intense civic pride have elevated him to something of a political leader as well. Which is why he wont be letting any no-good travelling adventurers interfere with his practices of feeding human blood to his horses to make them extra strong. The locals do not mind of course, but outsiders always question things and cause trouble with their foolish outsider ways.

18- Conniving Leech
This peasant watched his parents work themselves to death on their tiny little turnip farm and quickly realised that the only thing that matters in life is money. He is really more annoying than evil, for his goals never extend beyond extorting another shilling or two.

19- Helping Hand
This particular young (and naive) gentle will offer anything from common assistance to very private information (much to the disappointment of friends and family alike). This is not malicious or ill-willed, he’s just very honest and forward to a fault.

20- Trailing Teenager
A young and lovely girl with a passion for anything NOT her village. Completely enamored with gentlemen travelers, mostly in the hope of finding a way out of her tiny village and on to greater places.

21- Following the Leader
Twin boys, dirty and bruised from head to toe. Both carry wooden swords and makeshift shields. Will follow any group of hearty-looking travelers all over the village, pretending to be part of the group. Commonly found underfoot or a few yards behind the travelers a few miles outside the village.

22- The Lecherous Husband
A common man with uncommon appetites. Well known locally to be unhappily married, he will make not-so-obvious advances towards any woman travelling through the village.

23- The Drunkard Flirt
This seemingly average woman spends most of her time in the local inn or tavern, spending her husband’s hard earned money on copious amounts of drink. Combined with a severe case of flirting brought on by alcohol, she can be quite a pest.

24- The Workhorse
He works hard for his wages - and doesn’t do much else. Completely dedicated to his mundane life’s work, he is well-built and extremely knowledgeable in his craft. Don’t bother trying to get him to talk about something else, though.

25- The Scandalizer
If something happens, she’s the first to know about it. Always where the news and action is, she spreads rumors like wildfire. Many find her useful, but no one really likes her: everyone’s afraid that their secrets will become the entire village’s if they get too close.

26- The Observer
This dour peasant often happens to be around adventurous parties, self-styled knights in shining armor and the like. Never talking to them, it can be overheard they must be thieves or bandits, and the folks better watch their life and limb. He will follow the newcomers and make sure they won’t do anything wrong. His potato farm stay neglected.

27- The Religious
This peasant woman thinks that the gods send her dreams. Most of her fellow peasants ridicule her and laugh at her, whilst those who don’t warn her to keep her ideas to herself. If the Church leaders in the nearest town were to hear of her they might charge her with heresy.

28- Deal-Maker
This guy isn’t necessarily greedy or shady, but he comes across that way. He just can’t resist deal-making. He’ll sell his only plough ox if the price is right—and will suggest such if given half a chance. He’ll buy or trade whatever trinkets & souvenirs the pc’s have if he thinks he’s getting a good deal, whether he has any use for them or not, or even if he has no chance of ever convincing someone else to buy or trade them.

29- Miss Eyes-on-the-Sky
She is a daydreamer. She longs to be taken far away from this dump by some handsome prince. However, the pc’s aren’t ever going to match up to her vision of a proper suitor. She fantasizes about travelling the big wide world, so much so that she spills what she’s pouring, or trips over obstacles in her path. However, that same native intelligence that causes her mind to wander also causes her to realise that the world is a big and scary place outside of her quiet little mountain town, and she knows she would miss her friends & family too much—even her stupid brother.

30- Not My Grandma
This is an elderly lady—very elderly. Time has twisted her face and body into a cruel parody of what it once was. No one in the village claims any kinship to her, even though it is likely that many of them are her kin. She seems to spend her days shambling about, napping in odd places, and mumbling to herself. No one takes care of her, and most people try to ignore her as much as possible. Her speech is as twisted as her visage, and no one understands a word she says. Maybe she doesn’t understand herself.

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24- The Workhorse
He works hard for his wages - and doesn't do much else. Completely dedicated to his mundane life's work, he is well-built and extremely knowledgeable in his craft. Don't bother trying to get him to talk about something else, though.

25- The Scandalizer
If something happens, she's the first to know about it. Always where the news and action is, she spreads rumors like wildfire. Many find her useful, but no one really likes her: everyone's afraid that their secrets will become the entire village's if they get too close.

This dour peasant often happens to be around adventurous parties, self-styled knights in shining armor and the like. Never talking to them, it can be overheard they must be thieves or bandits, and the folks better watch their life and limb. He will follow the newcomers and make sure they won't do anything wrong. His potato farm stay neglected.

Thia peasent woman thinks that the gods send her dreams. Most of her fellow peasents ridicule her and laugh at her, whilst those who don't warn her to keep her ideas to herself. If the Church leaders in the nearest town were to hear of her they might charge her with heresy.

28--Deal-Maker
This guy isn't necessarily greedy or shady, but he comes across that way. He just can't resist deal-making. He'll sell his only plough ox if the price is right--and will suggest such if given half a chance. He'll buy or trade whatever trinkets & souvenirs the pc's have if he thinks he's getting a good deal, whether he has any use for them or not, or even if he has no chance of ever convincing someone else to buy or trade them.

29--Miss Eyes-on-the-Sky
She is a daydreamer. She longs to be taken far away from this dump by some handsome prince. However, the pc's aren't ever going to match up to her vision of a proper suitor. She fantasises about travelling the big wide world, so much so that she spills what she's pouring, or trips over obstacles in her path. However, that same native intelligence that causes her mind to wander also causes her to realise that the world is a big and scary place outside of her quiet little mountain town, and she knows she would miss her friends & family too much--even her stupid brother.

30--Not My Grandma
This is an elderly lady--very elderly. Time has twisted her face and body into a cruel parody of what it once was. No one in the village claims any kinship to her, even though it is likely that many of them are her kin. She seems to spend her days shambling about, napping in odd places, and mumbling to herself. No one takes care of her, and most people try to ignore her as much as possible. Her speech is as twisted as her visage, and no one understands a word she says. Maybe she doesn't understand herself.

Love this post -- it's colorful and very useful to have on hand. Like valadaar mentions, there are a few typos (11 is missing a close parenthesis, 15 should be "she knows she hates them", etc). But overall very good. 4.5/5

Thanks for the comment, I used this reminder to add the contributers, I think someone also PMd me a peasant or two, would you please let me know so I can add you. It is an okay sub I guess, a nice collaborative effort, but I think the score it received is too high. Oh well, somewhere on the planet walks a short-beaked Echidna, saved by the butterfly effect..

Link Backs

Somehow, someway, a band of gnomes learns how to be ninjas. In fine gnomish style, they open an academy to teach this art to other gnomes. Wacky Hijinks ensue. Or the gnomes become some of the finest assassins in the land. Or both.